Architects, special interest groups and politicians get the attention. But only one man is in charge of Ground Zero

The one name you won't find on The Forbes 400 is the most influential real estate developer in the country: Larry Silverstein.

Far less known than New York developers like Donald Trump or
Mort Zuckerman, Silverstein finds himself in the position to create and own a New York landmark, and in the process become a billionaire. But he's not there yet.

Silverstein is in the catbird seat by virtue of having leased the World Trade Center in a $3.25 billion deal a mere six weeks before its destruction.

Silverstein, 72, got his start in the 1950s, when he joined his father's real estate brokerage and pushed it into property syndication. That eventually made him a mainstay on The Forbes 400 throughout the 1980s, during which he made his reputation with the construction of 7 World Trade Center. It was built at a cost of $300 million in 1986; but Silverstein waited two long years to secure an anchor tenant, Salomon Brothers. The real estate bust of 1990 knocked him off The 400, but he painstakingly rebuilt his empire, which now claims 7 million square feet of office, retail and luxury residential space. All of that makes him worth approximately $450 million.

That sum doesn't include the potential payoff from his suit against 22 insurers of the Twin Towers. The insurers say the Sept. 11 attack was one occurrence, and therefore should have a maximum payout of $3.6 billion. Silverstein counts two occurrences, justifying $7.2 billion. If he wins, says Silverstein spokesman Gerald McKelvey, "every penny will go into rebuilding."

Stock quotes are delayed at least 15 minutes for Nasdaq, at least 20 minutes for NYSE/AMEX.
U.S. indexes are delayed at least 15 minutes with the exception of Nasdaq, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 which are 2 minutes delayed.